Grace: nine months

My darling Grace,

Oh, my sweet girl.  You really are the light of our lives.  From your smiley face to your chubby, little toes... we adore every inch of you.  This month has been so much fun because we're really beginning to see bits and pieces of your personality.

And if I thought last year's pictures were challenging...

I hadn't seen anything yet!  Daddy wasn't here to help, so we had a few close calls, but Mommy managed to keep you from falling.  Hallelujah!

Here are your nine-month stats:

Nine Months at a Glance

Weight:  20 pounds, 5.5 ounces (80th percentile) 

Length:  27.75 inches (60th percentile)

Eating:  6-8 ounces four times a day

Sleeping:  11 hours at night, 3-ish naps (anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours each time)
Bedtime:  7:00-7:30
Awake: 6:00-6:15 

Diapers:  size 3

Clothes: 6-12 months, 9 months, some 12 months

Things You Love:  clapping, pulling up on everything, your Laugh 'n' Learn puppy, your stuffed Minnie Mouse, Lilly, car keys, puffs, yogurt melts, iPhones, laughing, your cousins, your That's Not My Pony book, your activity table, banging measuring cups together, shredding magazines and trying to put the paper in your mouth, having your hair played with

What You Can Do This Month:  cruise, walk behind your walker, wave bye-bye, sign "more," dance, drink from a sippy cup, eat puffs, say da-da, give kisses

Eating:  You're still eating 6-8 ounces at a time 4 times a day.  Still usually around 6 when you wake up, then 10-ish, 2-ish, and 6-ish.  If you don't eat all of your 6:00 bottle, you finish it just before you go to bed.  You have breakfast at 8, lunch at 11, a snack at 2:00, and dinner either just before your 6:00 bottle or about 30 minutes afterward.

You'll eat anything pureed (we stick to mostly organic), but you're still having trouble gagging on table food.  For now, you'll eat puffs, the cheetos-type baby snacks, yogurt melts, and chicken sometimes.  You LOOOVE to snack on the few things you'll eat, so I have a feeling you're going to love to eat once you figure it out. :)  We're still working on adding other things.  

Sleeping:  You're still a pretty good sleeper.  You go down around 7:30-ish at night and wake up right around 6:00 each morning.

Naps are still pretty inconsistent.  You sometimes nap on the way to school, then you'll sleep anywhere from an hour to two hours at school, and then you almost always nap on the way home, anywhere from an hour to two.  We often have to wake you up at 6:00 to eat.  On the weekends, you usually take two long naps - about two hours each - in the morning and afternoon.

Other Stuff:  You had ANOTHER ear infection, so we got an ENT referral and had tubes put in this month.  The surgery was pretty breezy, but you did cry for about an hour straight afterward.  Apparently you + anesthesia do not mix well.  But since then, you've been ear infection-free!

You also got another tooth this month!  That wasn't fun for mommy and daddy, but now we know why you were so fussy that week!

You're saying some words, like da-da, but we're pretty sure you're not using them specifically yet.  You are getting a little sassier, which has been... interesting. :)  If we take a toy from you or try and change your clothes or keep you from doing pretty much anything you want to do, you get angry.  You also strangely start crying anytime anyone blows their nose.  It's so pitiful, but it's also kind of hilarious.

You are the smiliest little thing I've ever seen.  You love people, and you make friends wherever we go.  Your teachers at school always comment on your fun, sweet, happy personality.  And boy are you getting BUSY!  Now that you're mobile, you're everywhere.  We can hardly keep up with you!  You still let me rock you at night, but I'm wondering how much longer that will last.

We love you more than life, itself, angel girl.  And I am loving watching you grow and become the little girl God intends you to be.

Love,
Mommy